Chapter 23: Bridge to the Badlands

Johnny had no real need for sleep. Changelings and changelisks would only ever need to if they wanted to deceive someone. Johnny had no real need to eat mundane food. All zerg organisms can adapt to thrive on any resource or slow their metabolism. Johnny had no reason to fear. He, as well as many of his 'cousins', had evolved to never be afraid to die.

But once the morning light came, Johnny knew that he would have to visit this 'baroness' person, and meeting her would have been a pivotal tactic on the chessboard of war after all. With the forces that Kralluf had displayed against Kay and Virid's brood, and the quick researching capabilities that Faddoh's scientists exhibited, Kay realized that the only way that Gollog could be effectively taken down is if his enemies were amassed against him. To form such a strategy would require a resource that the zerg initially doesn't have. Technological creativity.

A knock on the door prompted Johnny to get up from sitting on the dirty mattress, and he went to the door to greet his guest. After opening the door, he saw the familiar face of Kirkan smiling and greeting him back, with other gilanian guardsmen behind him. "Ey, Johnny. Guess what we're going to do today?"

Johnny blinked a few times. "Uh... What?"

Kirkan smiled even more broadly. "We're going to see Baroness Tak."

Johnny blinked again. "... Baroness?"

Kirkan nodded. "Yeah! I think you'll like her. Since I told her a little about yourself, she's very interested in giving you an audience. I'm afraid that this audience, however, is mandatory. Need a bite to eat first?"

Johnny shook his head. "I can eat later, if that's okay. I want to meet the baroness first before doing anything else."

Kirkan chuckled. "Oh yeah, Tak is going to like you. Follow behind me, please. I'd like for you to keep quiet during the entire stroll, if possible. You're going to pretend to be a witness to a crime. Okay?"

"Why?" Johnny asked.

"Easier to explain to the public eye. Plus, it'll give people that are jealous of your knowledge less of a reason to kill you. I don't know if the old man at this inn could be trusted, but I had two guards posted as spies to see if he'd risk sending some information to a third party. Come along now. We don't want to have her wait for us."

Johnny paused, but nodded to Kirkan. He then followed after him while the other guardsmen that Kirkan brought followed behind Johnny. This trend continued into the main sandy street, which now had shops of various kinds lined with different customers of different walks of life. They parted wearily when Kirkan, Johnny, and the guardsmen behind him continued onward.

It was at this point that Johnny became curious. The customers actively went out of their way to give them room when the guardsmen came near them. It felt obvious to Johnny that the citizens in the citadel did not like the guardsmen, but it was at an extent that Kay, or Johnny, didn't understand. As one culture looking into another, it is to be expected that understanding something so foreign would come with strained difficulty. But then again, there were several gilanian corpses that was retrieved from the war between the gilanian empire and the zerg swarm, and they provided not only biomass, but also knowledge of this world as well. The state of affairs between the guardsmen and the citizens of Gargantua were increasingly harried. With the empire clamping down on settlements, there was a great influx of people that wanted to escape from a tyrannical rule. To conform to such rules were not in their interests, so they simply migrated to places where they knew that Gollog's rule would be, at the most, strenuous.

This trend of crowd parting continued until they came to some kind of station that had metallic rectangular cuboids with windows on its sides, which hovered above two sets of rails. These rails were not connected to the cuboids, but it suggested that the cuboids themselves were designed to be magnetic. The gilanian people walked up into these cuboids which allowed the automated transport systems to deliver them, and the cargo they occasionally tied on top, to their intended destination.

After going into the station, it appeared to be a building that serviced its citizens to enable travel to different locations. Within, the condition of the building was poor since its upkeep was inefficiently maintained. Parts of its walls were even heavily eroded. After several gilanians sidestepped from their approach to one of four receptionists, Kirkan spoke out in an authoritative voice. "Requesting a rail-trolley for one-way transit to Baroness Station."

The receptionist nodded with dull eyes as he turned to his side and fiddled with some devices, and activating a console that operated his communication equipment. "This is Far East Station, requesting Baroness Station to relay information if permissions for one-way transit was given."

[Baroness Station replying to Far East Station. Baroness Station confirms that permissions were given. Relay code please.]

The receptionist huffed, then directed the device that he talked into toward Kirkan. Kirkan leaned forward, and coughed a little before speaking. "This is Kirkan, captain of the guardsmen, relaying code for one-way transit." After fishing a piece of small paper from his armor, he began to read off of it. "The code is... iduteq, omopun, anuxuf, ujidis."

[Baroness Station confirms the code. Enjoy the free transit.]

The receptionist nodded. He took a paper out and made several stamps on it before giving it to Kirkan. "Here you go. You'll be using the rail-trolley suite. Don't take out any refreshments from the cool drink container, unless you can pay for it."

Kirkan snatched the ticket from the receptionist. "Like I need reminding, leech." After pocketing the ticket, Kirkan gestured behind himself for the followers behind him, which consisted of Johnny and the guardsmen, that they were continuing their travels. A cuboid vehicle on the rails came speeding towards the Far East Station a minute later, eventually coming to a slow stop in front of them. Once it fully stopped, they went into the cuboid vehicle. It looked nicer than any of the others present, and seated themselves inside the transportation machine.

Johnny made himself comfortable as he took in as much of the sprawling city as he could when the rail-trolley started moving. The rail-trolley came back to life by switching tracks and then speeding back the way it came from. The buildings slowly grew in size and complexity as they neared the center of the citadel. After passing through a checkpoint, Johnny was instantly seeing changes in the immediate environment. The complicated buildings instantly turned into a courtyard of a lavish palace that grew tall towers that towered over all of the other buildings. Johnny didn't really care about his environment, but he had to emulate some form of reptilian emotion so that his disguise would be convincing. "Wooooow."

Kirkan sighed. "Yeah. I pretty much had your same exact reaction when I saw the baroness' palace for the first time. Do you know how to be polite in the presence of the dignified?"

Johnny paused before replying. "Uh... Is there a manual that I can read?"

Kirkan chuckled and shook his head. "Alright. I'll give you the basics. Don't talk unless a question is offered to you. Always be polite. Don't talk down to her. And most importantly, don't act like a fool."

Johnny paused before nodding. The rest of the trip resulted in a scenic view of the palace before entering a small, yet heavily armored, rail-trolley station. Once the rail-trolley came to a stop, Johnny got up and inhaled before sighing. "I hope I make a good first impression."

Johnny was led into a room and was told to sit on a rickety chair at its center, whilst a large, luxurious, soft looking chair faced Johnny. He sat at the rickety chair and remained still on it for several minutes. At least Kirkan was there with him, but it seemed as though he didn't want to talk at the moment. Kirkan kept his mouth silent, and waited for the baroness to arrive.

Before too long, four guards entered into the room and stood at attention. One of them finally broke the silence in the room. "Baroness Tak approaches. All rise in her presence."

Johnny stood up as the baroness' guard commanded so. Seconds later, a female gilanian in an ornate red dress with golden trimmings and red jewelry sauntered in. Her face had red freckles instead of the normal yellow that was seen on almost all other gilanians. She sat down on the luxurious red chair and crossed her legs, but her focus was trained on Johnny. "You may be seated." She said in a soft tone. Johnny answered her by sitting. There was several seconds of tactical pausing before the red dressed gilanian female spoke again. "So this is the individual you wanted me to grant an audience to, Kirkan?"

Kirkan responded. "Yes mam. He is an unusual individual who has came to the front of the eastern entrance of our citadel. He claims that he survived by following six blade hounds that led him here, of which there was recorded surveillance images that proves the existence of them outside of Gargantua's walls. He boasted that he could recreate empire technology known as the manifestation altars as well."

"I have heard of your share already, Kirkan." The red dressed lady said, gesturing to him by waving dismissively. "I have seen the surveillance recordings, but I wish to hear this from his lips." She paused before smiling toward Johnny. "So! You are this interesting person that I have heard about?"

Johnny bowed in his seat and nodded. "Yes, my ladyship. I trekked far in the hope of escaping a war that was happening east of here. The empire soldiers belonging to Gollog was fighting some kind of incursion. With what, I don't think any normal gilanian would know about. But I have heard recently that Citadel Gargantua residents have an interest in acquiring manifestation altar tech. With some assistance, I could provide a means to build this technology. I can also create certain parts that are not exclusive for normal trade in the marketplaces, provided that I have the raw materials to construct the exotic parts."

Tak nodded and smiled. She then stood up and approached Johnny. "Stand up, please. I want a better look at you." Johnny nodded and stood up from his chair, obeying Tak's request. Tak circled Johnny a few times, looking him up and down with a smirk. "Hmm... Not exactly the fashionable type, wearing those rags and torn cloth... But you have a lean build... And a strong jawline... I don't smell the stench of peasantry about you... I can't really tell, but you seem to have a hidden wisdom about you, just from looking in your eyes." After a careful inspection of her audience, she then went back to her luxurious chair and sat back down. "But your self proclaimed skills in building and repairing manifestation altars interests me more. Tell me your name, stranger."

Johnny nodded. "My name is Johnny, my ladyship."

Tak tilted her head. "Your father's name?"

Johnny shook his head. "I have never met my father. I was hatched from a woman who goes by the name of Smith."

Tak giggled. "Smith? Sounds sort of... masculine in a way."

Johnny chuckled. "I'm pretty sure she would have taken that as a compliment. She's a big girl, after all."

"Oh! So this would mean that you are still young in your years?" Tak quizzically asked.

Johnny huffed. "Please don't embarrass me in front of Kirkan. I think his heart might give out if we started flirting with each other. That is if you found out my age."

Kirkan only coughed while Tak giggled loudly. "Oh, you are such a treat, and a tease! Very well. Let's allow this conversation to segue into business. In exchange for the manifestation altars, what would you like in return?"

Johnny nodded and looked like he was thinking thoughtfully. After a couple of seconds, he nodded and spoke again. "Since it was Gollog's army that had caused my family such trouble, I hope to strike back against Gollog and those loyal to him. Sadly, I am not a fighter by nature, so I hope that the knowledge I have might help develop a means for the gilanian people to fight back against him and his foul entourage. The blade hounds that once saved me from the dangers of the desert had taught me an important lesson. Sometimes, when an oppressive force threatens your freedom, help will come from the most unexpected of allies that shares your enemy, or your interests."

Tak stared wide eyed at Johnny in surprise. It was almost as if she didn't even expect such an answer! But she blanched from her surprise and smiled again. "It is surprising to know that you are so eager to strike back at the bastard bandit-lord-turned-emperor. Especially one so young looking! But I am afraid that I must decline such a trade."

Johnny cocked his head. "Why?"

Tak took a breath before speaking. "The Golden Star Empire is a very powerful and dangerous enemy. To insult Gollog is to put your own foot into an early grave. I have given him respect many times as he walked within the citadel's walls, since I know he wields powers that could very easily make them crumble. This citadel is a bridge between two evils, you see. And since those evils cancel each other out, a lot of people here could live in... relative safety. Between the lawlessness of the land in and beyond the pillar forest, and the empirical oppression belonging to the tyrannic Gollog, we here have achieved a safe balance. In fact, disrupting that balance is considered heresy and mutiny to my rule. Since I am the rightful leader, earning my position through wit and guile, I am now a very important ruler of this protected city. I am a bridge between the thief drenched badlands and the Golden Star Empire, and a viceroy of no allegiance to Gollog and those against him.

"You see, Johnny." Tak said, pleading her fingers and leaning forward. "Out in the badlands, you are liable to die in many ways. If it isn't dehydration that kills you, then it is malnutrition, sun exposure, disease, predators, and bandits. Do you know what the bandits would do if they captured you? They would stick you into a machine that drains all of your body fluids. Any drop of moisture is valuable, especially in the hot and dry seasons. They would see you as nothing more but as a receptacle of water. But they also provide medicines, and a means to hunt shryik serpents for meat and bones for trade.

Tak leaned backward and sighed. "But to gain manifestation altar technology for our own hands... We could supply everyone with water. In fact, I can see voucher stamps becoming less and less expensive to procure if these altars become available to the public. There would be less contest for voucher stamps, and therefore, less of a reason for neighbors to quarrel with each other. I could see myself potentially benefiting from this exchange. By that logic, if there were less angry citizens of Gargantua, then it would mean that I would have more people becoming more willing to hear what I have to say, and also becoming more agreeable to my terms of leadership.

She then furrowed her brows. "But Gollog doesn't share his power with others so easily, unless they swore fealty to him first." She sat upright and changed her tone. "Johnny. I cannot offer you a revolution. Not yet at least. The time is not right. Only until I have gained the support of my people can they be willing enough to throw down their lives for something greater. My hands are tied in this manner."

Johnny absorbed all of this information. Gollog was far more harsher to his own kind that he, or any of the zerg had initially thought. Any gilanian in their right mind would just cut their losses and simply live in the comfort that a baroness' palace could provide.

But Johnny was zerg, through and through. He shook his head. "Then I guess I'll teach you everything I know, here and now. If I can't find any allies to rely on here... Then I guess I'll have to find allies that will."

Tak blinked her eyes and began staring at Johnny. "... Are you saying you would be willing to leave for the badlands, just to find some rebels to join a fight? My my my, you definitely ARE a determined fellow."

Johnny shook his head. "Pardon me for correcting you, my ladyship. I didn't have those guys in mind when I said that I'd find my allies."

Tak scoffed and smiled. "Pray tell!"

"I was more thinking trying to get those blade hounds to assist us." Johnny replied.

"You think those things can be tamed?!" Kirkan exclaimed.

"You're out of turn, Kirkan dear." Tak scolded with a firm tone. After Kirkan shriveled into a crestfallen posture, Tak turned back to Johnny. "Please explain, Johnny."

Johnny nodded and continued. "I'd like to first say that I think the blade hounds could not be effectively tamed. But I did notice that they were very smart pack animals. They knew that I was of no harm to them, and they knew that I am not an empire gilanian that was set on attacking whatever den they came from." He then leaned forward. "If I can gain their trust, then I could gain potential allies that can help attack and take down Gollog's empire. But I would only consider this option if my original plan of building up our forces here in Gargantua didn't follow through. Most people don't know where these blade hounds came from, but I do have reason to believe that the empire is having problems with such beasts. I believe that these creatures and all free gilanians oppose the same enemy."

Tak tilted her head. "An interesting idea. What makes you think that these blade hounds really can assist us?"

Johnny emoted a knowing smile. "I think I'll chalk it up to faith. After all, I did see six of them chase away a shryik serpent on their own."

Tak nodded, impressed. "In its own sandy element?!"

"yes, my ladyship." Johnny replied.

"I say, their savagery must be on par with that of a rampant bull mongwedger! Since mongwedgers only live in the jungle circle, having them as trained animals for our cause might be more beneficial than I thought." Tak said, placing a hand to her chin.

Johnny wasn't sure what a mongwedger is, but he continued on with the conversation. "So will you let me go to them once I make the manifestation altars for you here?" Johnny questioned.

"Perhaps." Tak replied, a finger dancing around the lips of her mouth. She then leaned way forward and reached her hand out toward Johnny. "I will offer you a place to stay at the palace. In exchange, I will give you all you need to make your altars, and more. Is this deal acceptable?"

Johnny smiled and reached a hand out toward Tak's and gently shook it. "Yes, my ladyship. I agree to these terms and conditions."

Tak smiled back, then retracted her hand after the handshake was done. She then turned to her guards. "Oh boys? May you ready a room for our guest? And give him a change of clothes while you're at it, please? We can't have him saunter around barely clad in cloth. He would be distracting me with my delegations!"

One of her guards bowed to her and then turned to Johnny. "Please follow me to your quarters, sir."

Johnny bowed to Baroness Tak before leaving her presence. This was even easier than Johnny, or anyone connected to the zerg hivemind, had thought! However, this also seemed to be too easy. Johnny would have to be very careful or he would be stuck in a situation where he wouldn't be able to have the required resources to build these altars. Thanks to Corvurn's extensive research on the topic of manifestation altar technology, Johnny could pool his understanding of the tech from the hivemind's knowledge and recreate it as he pleases. But even then, Baroness Tak might not be so eager as to let Johnny leave. Such an important asset like him would be too costly to Tak if he were to die or depart.

Johnny and Kay will have to think of another plan if Tak's greed prevented their current plan from changing for the better.

Kay took a deep sigh as he stood up and stretched. "Hoooh... How long have I been sitting here?" He asked no one in particular.

Operations over on the zerg side of things were expanding pleasantly well in the night. The five hatchery clusters five kilometers away were recreated, and the eight hatchery clusters ten kilometers from the center were reformed as well. The creep took a shorter amount of time to spread, since there were more overlords that hovered over the main hive cluster. Used in conjunction with several queens, the overlords deposited their creep, while the queens laid their creep tumors. The resource tumors took slightly longer to form, but the veins that branched out from them, and under the creep, have expanded to more than their regular coverage allowed.

But that had also presented a problem. The swarm on Kiln was relying too much on the potential energy that was collected on the surface of Kiln. If anything, there could be other places that such energy could be converted into bio-fuel. Specifically, underground.

Upon realizing this tactic, Kay knew what he and the zerg brood had to do. The roaches, drones, and queens got to work. The roaches used their powerful sickle-claws to dig into the earth. Rather than burrow-move through it, they needed to dig and provide space for the drones and queens that would accompany them. The drones helped with disheveling and moving the loose sand and soil that quickly filled the zerg-made tunnels, whilst the queens provided essential creep tumors that helped stabilize said tunnels. Every time they dug a kilometer's length of tunnels, they began to mine out rock and earth to form an artificial dome-shaped chamber to morph a hatchery within, as well as a small number of crawler strains, that would help defend the zerg territories underground. From those hatcheries, more tunnels would form, spreading outward, downward, upward, and sometimes creating more hatcheries at the end of those tunnels every now and again.

This was the greatest defensive weapon of the zerg. Using the earth itself as a shield from their enemies is their ultimate tactic. Mountains may provide their phenomenally rocky cover to shield those who know the terrain well, but using the crust of the world itself as a staging area provided the zerg with the ultimate advantage. Used in conjunction with resource tumors and carbonation extractors, Kay and Virid's brood were virtually self-perpetuating!

Even Kay doubted that Gollog's orbital laser attack power could penetrate through the ground and attack the hatcheries established underground! With hatcheries being made on both the hexagonal moon and under the soil, rock, and sands of Kiln, Kay felt as though he made Gollog's task of getting rid of the zerg even more difficult.

"I see that you have made good progress." Virid said from behind Kay.

"GWAH!" Kay jerked forward, but then calmed down a little. "Dammit, Virid. I need to put a bell on you or something."

"Bells are not necessary to the swarm." Virid replied.

Kay sighed and nodded. "Last time I remembered, you scuttled away to ask Kragnon about something. What was it?"

Virid bowed. "I merely wanted to know if the center of Kiln was molten."

Kay blinked a few times. "... Okay then? ... You know, I think we could use that! The pressure of the atmosphere and the heat contained within this planet will help feed our resource tumors. Sounds like we'll be having several miles of creep tumor filling the tunnels far below our feet. ... Well... You don't have feet."

Virid trilled an unamused sigh, looking down as she inspected her legs. "No, I don't. I sense a changelisk is deep in gilanian territory. What progress have you made?"

Kay rolled his eyes and beamed a smile. "I managed to have a changelisk infiltrate a faction of gilanians that are not aligned to Gollog. I'm hoping to have 'Johnny' teach them how to use manifestation altar tech, and then corral their numbers to amass a force that can punish Gollog's empire."

Virid cocked her head. "You wish for them to fight alongside us? Is that a smart decision?"

Kay had a confused expression creep onto his face. "Uh... I think so? I mean, they are against the gilanian empire. That's all I know about them."

Virid hissed. "Gaining gilanian allies is a tactic I would not recommend. ... But I suppose they could help hinder our enemy in some way. We shall refrain from infesting our mutually beneficial comrades."

Kay shrugged. "Trying to convince them that the zerg are on their side is going to be difficult. Thankfully, I like a good challenge."

Virid bowed. "Then I will leave the changelisk, Johnny, in your careful command. I shall retire to caring for the hatcheries developing further below us."

Once Virid scuttled off, Kay decided that he would get a certain evolution master work on a problem that had been plaguing the zerg for three days now. Specifically, the poison that the group of tribal hunters used. This poison was injected into the overlord by using a crossbow bolt the hunter gilanians used, and it was an annoying itch on Kay's mind. Kay would be glad to finally have that itch be metaphorically scratched.

A/N: Watched Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. I like Bubble. :/3